


Lockdown: A guide on how to woo your crush into dating you during quarantine.

by what_hasnt_been_taken_yet



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Fluff, M/M, a little smut, also covid-19 is happening, humanstuck AU, might be more but idk if imma be comfortable writing it i am a child, mostly just a lot of cute davekat bullshit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:54:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23334181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_hasnt_been_taken_yet/pseuds/what_hasnt_been_taken_yet
Summary: You are Dave Strider, and you know for a fact that Karkat Vantas hates you. This would be fine if you weren't in love with him.Oh, also, you're stuck in quarantine with him for two weeks.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Comments: 25
Kudos: 179





	1. Day 1-5

**Author's Note:**

> i wrote this for fun because self-isolation is super boring so i tried to keep most of the stuff concerning coronavirus as light as possible  
> i know a lot of us out here are prob having a not-great time stuck at home so i hope this cheers y'all up!

If you're being completely honest, the last person you expected to see when you answered the door was Karkat Vantas. You thought maybe John had come back early, or maybe you'd ordered pizza and forgot. But no, it was just your frenemy.

"Oh. Hey, Karkat."

He brushes past you, entering your apartment without your invitation. "Where's John at?" he asks, skipping all formalities.

You roll your eyes, shutting your apartment door. "Not here, man. Sorry to disappoint." You shared the apartment with your best bro, John, who was the first person to introduce you to Karkat. You really didn't understand how they put up with each other.

"Then where the fuck is he?"

"He went to see his cousin. Jane apparently came into town to see Roxy."

"Ugh." Karkat plops down on your couch, staring dejectedly at the television, which you had tuned to HGTV. Sometimes a dude's gotta watch some Property Brothers. "Why didn't he tell me? We were supposed to hang out today."

Dave shrugs, sitting next to him. "I dunno, man, he must've forgot. But I'm pretty sure he told me he'd be back soon, so you can just wait here for him."

Karkat sighs, sinking further into the couch. "Whatever. Let's fucking hope he shows up soon." He grabs the remote. "Can I put something actually entertaining on?"

"Dude, no, Property Brothers is the shit." You snatch the remote back, frowning. "Besides, you're just gonna put on some dumbass romcom."

"Shut up, headass, romcoms are good. You wouldn't know quality cinematography if it sucked your dick."

You bark out a laugh. "'Quality cinematography'? Dude, you're delusional."

"Fuck off."

Sometimes you like to antagonize Karkat, and sometimes, like today, you feel like you're just going through the motions. This little feud you two have going on feels so performative sometimes, but you just go with it because you know Karkat hates you, and you gotta pretend like you hate him too, and hope he doesn't notice how false you feel.

Because, if you're being completely honest, you don't hate Karkat Vantas at all. You're crushing hard- you love messing with him, love seeing his temper flare up, love his weird obsession with romcoms, love how he clearly cares for John but doesn't like to show it. And, you won't lie, once you got over your sexuality crisis in high school and realized you were bi, you also realized how much you enjoyed looking at Karkat. Dude likes to hide in his sweaters, but he's a bit of a beefcake, and damn if his ass isn't hot in sweatpants.

But you can't act on your crush, because Karkat has made it unnecessarily clear that he loathes your guts and finds you irredeemably annoying. So you just play along.

"Is there something on my face?" Karkat asks, startling you.

"What?"

"You've been staring at me for the past minute."

"Oh." You grin, trying to hide your embarrassment at zoning out like that. "Naw, man, it's just your face is so interesting. It's like a car wreck, I cannot look away."

"Oh, fuck you, asshole!" He shoves you, scooting away from you on the couch. "At least I don't look like a toddler's throw-up."

"Damn, that's harsh." And it does hurt you, a little, though by now you're mostly used to Karkat's insults.

Suddenly, the Property Brothers is interrupted, replaced by an emergency news broadcast.

"Oh fuck, is Trump doing another coronavirus press briefing?" you ask, turning up the volume. Might as well listen to this important shit.

"-interrupt this broadcast to inform everyone in the New York City area that a full lockdown is in effect. Everyone is advised to stay wherever they are or get indoors as soon as possible. Do not leave your homes unless absolutely necessary."

"What the fuck?" Karkat yells, jumping up. "No way am I staying here."

"Dude, we gotta listen. This shit is serious." A spark of hope flits through you. As much as the global situation is a living nightmare, a few weeks in an apartment with Karkat sounds like an opportunity. "You can't leave and risk catching corona."

Karkat huffs, crossing his arms. "Fuck! Of all the insufferable pricks in this city, I had to get stuck with you?" He sits back down, frowning at the emergency broadcast. "Maybe John is already on his way back. At least then I won't go crazy from being alone with you."

Just then, you get a text from Egbert. As you read it, your grin widens. "John's staying with Jane and Roxy. It's just you and me."

Karkat groans, rubbing his face with one hand. "Then let the torture begin."

DAY ONE

"Okay, first things first, what shit have you and Egbert stockpiled here? I fucking hope to god you have actual food."

You're standing in your kitchen, hands in your pockets, watching as Karkat rifles through your fridge. "Dude, we're not total idiots. We've got, like, fruits, like apples and grapes and stuff. A shit ton of cheese sticks, because those are my fucking jam. A few gallons of apple juice, because I thrive solely off of that. We got a lot of crap for sandwiches, like lunch meat and cheese and stuff, and I think Egbert bought baby carrots- yeah, that's them right there."

Karkat picks up the half-empty bag of carrots, scrunching up his nose. "Okay, this isn't terrible. Kinda pitiful, but whatever. We can at least go grocery shopping if we absolutely need to. What about non-perishables? Where's your fucking pantry?"

"Check it." You open a few overhead cabinets, which are stockpiled, the shelves loaded. "Yeah, we got a bunch of ramen and instant mac and a few boxes of spaghetti. Also got a lot of cans of refried beans, cause you gotta get your protein in. Cereal, we've got plenty of that, but I think our milk's aboutta expire, so I guess we're gonna get used to eating that dry."

"Better than I expected, Strider. We might actually survive the next two weeks, if we don't end up killing each other."

"Haha, yeah..." You rub the back of your head, closing the cupboard. "And don't worry about toilet paper, we've got like two packages of 12 rolls. That should be more than enough for two people."

"Great." Karkat makes his way to your couch, sitting down again. "So, all that leaves is making a plan."

You join him. "A... plan?"

"For how to get through the lockdown without going insane from only having each other as company."

"Oh." You shrug, turning down the volume on the T.V. "I just thought we could, you know, hang out and chill or whatever. Watch movies or play board games or shit. Just like... hang."

Karkat snorts, straightening up from his slouch. "I don't know if you noticed, Dave, but we don't exactly 'hang' or 'chill' together. At least, not alone- we always have John or Jade or Terezi or literally any of our mutual friends as a buffer. Because, in case you forgot, we don't really get along."

You try to hide your disappointment. "I dunno, man, maybe it could be fun. Just you and me, bickering into the night."

"See, this is exactly why we need a plan. You're gonna annoy me to the point of contemplating my own death if we try to hang out. I need as much time as possible to myself. It's called social distancing for a reason, right?"

"C'mon, man, we're already fucking stuck with each other, why not have a little fun? If I get annoying, you can go lock yourself in John's room at any time, but I say we just try to hang out and maybe not bug the living shit out of each other." You peer at him hopefully, giving him your patented Strider grin.

He groans, throwing his hands up. "Fine! I'll give you one chance. But I swear to God, if you get too insufferable, you won't see me for the rest of the lockdown."

"Bet. And don't worry, Karkat, I'm sure you'll figure out you actually can't get enough of my bullshit." You pull down your shades to wink at him, your grin widening. You notice how he's fixated by your weird, unnatural eyes, and you slip your shades back up, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Not in a million years, Strider." He seems to realize he was staring a little too hard and looks away, frowning. "So, uh, what're we gonna do?"

"I mean, I was just gonna keep watching Property Brothers till John got back, but that ain't happening." You shrug, gesturing with the remote. "Maybe... for my first act as king of not-being-an-asshole-to-Karkat, I'll let you pick something to watch."

Karkat squints at you incredulously. "Really? You're gonna let me pick something."

"Yup."

"Even though you know it's just gonna be a quote-unquote 'shitty romcom'."

"Yeah, man. Might wanna take this offer before I decide against it."

Karkat rolls his eyes before snatching the remote from you. "You asked for this, so you don't get to complain when you end up hating the movie."

"Hey, I didn't agree to that. You know exactly what you're getting into if you put on a romcom with me in the room. I get to make as many comments on Dane Cook's mediocre acting as I want."

"Fuck you! I could always decide I've had enough of your bullshit and stay in John's room indefinitely."

"You'd just be playing yourself, man. All you would have in there to keep you from complete boredom is your phone."

Karkat begins scrolling through the channels, on the lookout for a romcom. "You're funny if you think I'll let you have the entire apartment to yourself."

"I mean, it _is_ my apartment."

"And I'm your guest. Which means I should get special privileges."

"You're more like a hostage than anything, but whatever. If it comes down to it and you decide I'm too much of an asshole to deal with, we could always make a schedule for who gets what rooms when. Just know I'm gonna need a lot of fucking time in the bathroom. Looking this perfect doesn't happen without a little effort and a _lot_ of hair products."

"Explains why your hair always looks so fucking greasy." Karkat finally settles on a movie- Clueless.

"Oh my god, are you kidding me?" you say, snorting. "You come into my home, have the audacity to insult my beautiful hair, and on top of that you put on a chick flick?"

"First of fucking all, I wanted to leave, but you _insisted_ I stay-"

" _Someone's_ gotta make sure you stay virus-free," you interrupt.

Karkat barrels on, ignoring your interjection. "-in this god-forsaken apartment with my mortal enemy. Second, your hair is a fucking mess-"

"It's deliberately messy. That's what makes me irresistibly attractive."

"Attractive to a _bird_ , maybe. I wouldn't be surprised to find eggs in there-"

"Speak for yourself, Karkat, I don't think I've ever seen you run a brush through that tumbleweed you call hair."

"-and _third_ , Clueless is more than just a chick flick-"

"Man, you're gonna make me laugh my ass off over here, and I already don't have much of an ass to begin with."

"-it is delightful, enjoyable, and a god-damn American classic. Plus, it's got the absolute smokeshow that is Paul Rudd."

You finally burst, laughing so hard you can feel your sides physically splitting. "The- the dude who- who plays Ant-Man?" you stutter in between your laughs.

Karkat smacks your arm, glaring at you. "You've clearly never seen young Paul Rudd, because he is a fucking eleven out of ten."

At this point you're wheezing. "Dude- I know you're- desperate as hell, but- but you're settling for- for _Paul Rudd_ as your eye candy?"

"Shut up and watch, asshole. He's in the next scene."

You wipe a tear from your watering eyes, trying to catch your breath and get a clear look at the movie. There's the stereotypical airhead blonde main character, and here comes the love interest- oh. _Oh_.

"Holy fuck, he's hot." You rub your eyes in disbelief, blinking at the screen, but Paul Rudd is still there, and he's still definitely making you feel things in the lower parts of your body.

"Holy fuck is right, dumbass. You really fucking doubted me."

"I mean, can you blame me? I only had 40-year old wrinkly-forehead Paul Rudd to go off of. This dude out here lookin smooth as a baby's ass."

"Oh, so you don't like wrinkles? Not attracted to older men?" Karkat's grinning at you as you sit in your complete bafflement. "Because I'll tell you right fucking now that old Paul Rudd is just as attractive."

You bark out another laugh. "Dude, do you have a daddy kink?"

Karkat turns bright red, hiding in his adorable sweater. You love to see him squirm like this- the only upside to your antagonistic relationship. "Fuck you, that's my fucking business."

"I'm just saying, I could totally hook you up with one of the hotter professors at NYU. Hell, I'm a TA for this one archaeology professor, and I know for a fact he's a gay bachelor."

Karkat shoves you again, the red going to the tips of his ears. "Don't set me up with anyone, I don't trust your taste in men."

"Funny you say that, because my taste in men is you." You say it as a joke, trying to hide how true it is.

"Wow, that definitely helped my dangerously bad self-esteem. Thanks, Strider, I really feel better knowing that I pass your incredibly low standards."

You frown, wanting to combat his self-deprecation and genuinely tell him how good of a person you think he is. Though, it definitely doesn't help his case that he's intentionally making a jab at your tendency to sleep around. Which, you admit, you're not very proud of. But when the only person you actually want completely hates you, you're kinda left to find fleeting love wherever you can.

You can't say any of that though. You've never been sincere or genuine before, so why start now?

"It was a tough decision, but after months of deliberation the judges decided you barely scraped by. So, you're welcome."

"Oh fuck you. You're this close to exceeding your asshole limit."

"Aw, but I still have this whole movie to ridicule. Are you telling me I can't diss on young Paul Rudd anymore?"

Karkat narrows his eyes at you. "I'm telling you that if you want to keep seeing me the next two weeks you're gonna have to tread lightly. This is some thin fucking ice you're on, Strider."

"Alright, message delivered. I'll just diss on the blonde lady instead."

"Alicia Silverstone."

"Alyssa Silverstein."

He groans, facepalming. "Now I _know_ you're deliberately trying to fuck with me."

"Who said I haven't been this whole time? I need to talk to whoever's been spreading such dangerous misinformation. I will not stand for that shit."

"Can you just turn off that incessant mouth for the rest of the afternoon and watch the fucking movie?"

"Fine. I'll refrain as much as possible from mocking Eliza Silkystain."

This earns you another glare from Karkat, but you pipe down, actually giving the movie a modicum of attention. As much as you like messing with him, you really don't want to risk pushing him too far and being lonely for the rest of the quarantine.

Besides, you do love looking at him. Even more than you're starting to love looking at young Paul Rudd. Plus, how are you ever gonna get the nerve up to tell him how you feel if he decides to completely avoid you?

You manage to sit through most of the movie without comment, occasionally firing off a few critiques and predictions- you could see from a mile away that Christian was gay. When it ends, you say, "Well, that was better than I expected."

"I told you it's a good movie." Karkat had shifted during the movie, so that he was laying on the couch, head resting on the armrest.

You, on the other hand, had stayed sitting upright, one leg casually slung on the couch. "I didn't say it's good, just better than I expected. Kinda weirded me out that it was practically incest and they never acknowledged it."

"They aren't related by blood, it's fine."

"But they're still siblings!"

"Listen, I'd date Paul Rudd if he were my brother, too."

You chuckle, smiling at Karkat. "Okay, I'll give you that." He's staring at you again, wearing the same expression he'd had when you lowered your shades to wink at him. You look away, feeling yourself blushing, and check the time. "It's a little past six. We've got time to watch another movie. Hell, it's not like we got school or work to go to anytime soon, we could stay up all night."

Karkat shrugged, sitting up slightly. "I guess so. And since you've been mind-bogglingly bearable the past two hours, I'll actually let you pick the movie this time."

You affect a look of shock. "Wow, really? I never thought the day would come when I could choose what movie to watch in my own home."

He rolls his eyes. "Don't push it, Dave, or you're not gonna get this privilege again." He tosses you the remote, which you easily catch.

"I already know what to put on, so get ready for the biggest laughs in your entire life."

"Ugh. I'm assuming this is just a comedy and not a romantic one. Just tell me it doesn't have Adam Sandler."

You grin. "No, Sandler's eternally pained face does not grace this film. And I'd say it has a little bit of romance. And a hell of a lot of bromance."

"Hmm. Okay, I'll bite. What're you putting on?" Your grin widens as you pull it up on one of your many streaming services. "Superbad?" Karkat asks, looking over the cast list. "I've heard of it, but I never watched it. But Michael Cera and Emma Stone in the same movie? I can't say I'm not intrigued."

"Trust me, you're gonna fucking love it." You hit play and lean back, propping your legs up on the coffee table.

You're surprised when Karkat laughs during the first five minutes. And not just his usual snort, a full on laugh. When it gets to the scene with the kid who impulsively draws dicks, he bursts into another round of laughs. "Dave! Dave, I fucking can't with this shit! That's you! That kid is literally exactly you!"

You laugh, pausing the movie to let Karkat remember how to breathe again. "Yup. I'm pretty sure the writers used my childhood as inspiration for this scene."

"Dave, this is fucking uncanny. Are you sure _you_ didn't help write this movie?"

"God, I fucking wish. Though if I had, there definitely would've been even more inappropriate jokes. And it would've been hella gay."

"Are you telling me Michael Cera doesn't get with Jonah Hill in the end?"

You click your tongue at him in disappointment, shaking your head. "Karkat, when are you gonna learn? Hollywood is scared of the gay agenda. They're more closeted than I was in middle school."

Karkat chuckles. "Okay, I'll give you that one. You can press play, I think I've recovered my ability to breathe."

You watch the rest of the movie with plenty of laughter, while Karkat gets inexplicably invested in the plot like he does when he watches more serious movies.

When it's over, Karkat looks over at you. "I hate to admit this, Dave, but you actually picked a good fucking movie."

You shrug. "What can I say? I got impeccable taste for movies."

Karkat snorted. "We'll see. But if you keep this up, this might actually end up being a somewhat pleasant lockdown experience."

"Hell yeah it will." You smile at him, not hiding how pleased you are to hear that.

"Okay, this has been not completely terrible, but I'm gonna call it a night. If you need me, I'll be in Egbert's room."

"Aight. Goodnight, Karkat."

He gives you a small, reluctant smile. "Goodnight, Dave."

You stretch, feeling happier than you have in a while. You're stuck in an apartment with Karkat Vantas and you spent the past few hours actually getting along. You can chalk up the night as a success.

You head to bed, humming, and fall asleep quicker than usual.

DAY TWO

"Uh, Dave? Minor problem, do you guys have any spare toothbrushes around?"

Karkat ends up using his finger to brush his teeth, and you order him one on Amazon, hoping that fast delivery is as quick as they promise.

You also order him a pack of boxers- hell, he can borrow yours or John's clothes, but no way are you letting his junk touch your underwear. Unless y'all are having sex.

You turn bright red at the thought, grateful that Karkat's too busy trying to scrub his teeth with a finger to notice your slight boner.

It's not like it's ever gonna happen. But who can blame you for wishful thinking?

DAY THREE

You and Karkat are depleting your sandwich supplies faster than expected, but neither of you want to dip into the instant meals unless absolutely necessary. You know the day will come when you've had ramen for the past five meals and you want to shoot yourself rather than have it again, but until that day comes, you'll eat sandwiches and be somewhat content.

DAY FOUR

Karkat's toothbrush finally arrives. You greet the delivery man wearing gloves and a scarf, which probably isn't the best defense, but whatever. Karkat is standing a good twenty feet away as you hastily scrawl your signature and grab the package, closing the door as quickly as would be considered polite.

"Dude, I don't know why you didn't get it. Why do I gotta waste my life to get your toothbrush?"

Karkat scoffed. "Listen, I'm stuck here because of you, and it's your fault for not having spare toothbrushes."

"Okay, whatever, here it is, I hope this is worth me dying over."

"Wait, don't move closer, lemme spray you first." Karkat runs into the kitchen, rummages through the cabinet under your sink, and grabs a bottle of Lysol spray.

"What the fuck." He comes toward you with the bottle outstretched. "Dude, no, what the fuck."

"Just plug your nose and keep your eyes and mouth closed."

"No, man, you're not spraying me with that shit." You back towards the door, your nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Dave, I'm not about to risk getting corona. This is just a precaution." He's standing a good six feet away from you still, holding the bottle like it's a gun.

You sigh, crossing your arms. "Fine. But let me take off my shades first. I dunno what that shit'll do to them." You pull them off and toss them to the couch, where they land softly. "Alright, do your worst."

You let Karkat spray you with disinfectant, turning in a slow circle as he spritzes you from as far as possible, followed by all the surrounding surfaces. Then you hand him his package, and he immediately goes to brush his teeth properly. You pop into the bathroom as soon as he's done, showering to get as much of the Lysol solution off of you as possible.

These two weeks better end fucking soon, because it sucks and you are tired as hell of being so panicked about this shit.

DAY FIVE

You've begun to get a little stir-crazy. You try to work on your music, but you hate how often you reference the virus in your lyrics and the rap keeps taking a depressing turn, so you stop. Same with working on SBaHJ- all your brain can revolve around is this dumbass pandemic, and it's too much of a bummer for you to even ironically satirize.

Karkat has it even worse. You let him use your laptop so he doesn't go insane, but he refuses to write his embarrassing screenplays or romantic novels on a laptop you have access to, so he just ends up fucking around on various websites.

You both try to pass the time with movies, podcasts, even reading books out loud- all of them belonging to John. You play a few video games, but all you have are cursed skateboarding games and the few multiplayer games on your Switch.

So it really doesn't take long before you pull out a board game.

"Battleship? Really, Dave? Are we that desperate for something to fill our time?"

"I mean, I've got other board games in here, but this one's best suited for two people."

"It's just... such a childish game."

From your vantage point of sitting on the floor, looking up at him as you set up the game, it does feel a little childish, sure. "Naw, dude, it's all about strategy. Are you in or should I play with myself?" Fuck. Rose would be proud of that Freudian slip.

Karkat sighs, before plopping down in front of you. "Fine. Not like I have anything better to do."

"Bet." You finish setting it up, giving Karkat his half of the game. "Aight, let's do this. Get ready to be fucking destroyed."

"You wish, shit-for-brains. I'm gonna eviscerate you."

You begin the game in earnest, trading bombs a few times. You land a hit on one of his ships, but you don't try to sink it.

"Uh... Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Why aren't you going for that ship?"

You smirk, pushing your shades up your nose in what you hope is a cool move but actually looks incredibly dorky. "Don't worry about it, man. I got a whole ass strategy. You can't even fucking imagine."

He gives you a questioning look, but shrugs. "Whatever, it's your fucking loss if your strategy sucks. Forget I said anything."

You continue playing, and he eventually hits and sinks one of your ships, but you still don't go after his. After quite a few more rounds, where he ends up sinking another ship and you've landed a few scattered hits, he looks up at you again, his eyes narrowed.

"Dave."

"Yeah, dude?"

"Dave Elizabeth Strider."

"That's my name, don't wear it out."

"Dave, I'm gonna ask you a question, and your answer better be a fucking negative, or I might flip my shit."

You shrug. "Ask away, Mr. Vantas."

"Are you making a dick with your bombs?"

Your grin tells him everything he needs to know.

He throws up his hands, incredulous. "Jesus fucking Christ, you're not even taking the game seriously! I should've fucking _known_ when you said all that unironic shit about strategy that something was up. I really cannot believe you sometimes."

You shrug, your grin staying firmly planted on your face. "Oh, I'm taking this game so seriously, Karkat, you just don't see my master game plan."

He rolls his eyes. "Your only 'game plan' is to make a fucking bomb dick! This is literally the worst strategy I've ever seen."

"I dunno about that. Why don't we keep playing?"

"Sure! Just so I can completely obliterate you."

You shift strategy, first sinking the ships you've already located. With the scattered bombs you'd used to make your masterful dick, there aren't many places left for Karkat's remaining ships. While he's still trying to find the rest of yours, you easily weasel out and succinctly sink his, winning the game.

He stares at you, dumbfounded. "Luck. You won out of luck."

"Naw, dude, you just don't wanna admit that my dick strategy fucking worked. I'm the new god of Battleship, bow down and worship, motherfucker."

Karkat chuckles and begins clearing his board. "You sound like Gamzee."

"Oh, fuck, gross. Forget I said that." You start pulling your pegs out too, grinning. "So, do you need me to send you to pound town again in a rematch, or are you gonna graciously accept this defeat?"

He rolls his eyes again, closing his board. "I'm not gonna 'graciously' do anything, ever, let alone accept defeat. But, fine, I can admit you won our single round of Battleship, proving nothing."

You smile. "I'll take it."


	2. Day 6-9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is a hint of smut in here y'all just lettin you know

DAY SIX

It's nearly nine, and you and Karkat just finished watching School of Rock- your pick, and another total banger, as far as you're concerned.

"You headed to bed now?" you ask. You're aware that Karkat usually turns in right around this time.

He shrugs, stretching a little. "Actually, I'm not that tired. I'm down for another movie."

You smile. "Bet. You can choose."

He already had the remote. "Well, duh, of course I'm fucking choosing. For some inexplicable reason I'm giving up sleep to spend more time with you, so I should get something in return."

You roll your eyes, which Karkat can actually see- after straining to see a movie a few nights ago, you decided to forgo the shades during movie time. "Whatever, dude, just put on something good."

"Have you disliked a single movie I've shown you?"

"No comment."

When he pulls up the movie, you're surprised. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off? This isn't a romcom."

Karkat doesn't look at you. "I don't only like romcoms, dipshit. This movie's actually... one of my favorites."

"Huh. Well, put it on, then."

Five minutes in, and Karkat pauses. "Hey, Dave, are you cold?"

"Uh... kinda? Why, are you?"

He nods, and you notice how tightly his arms are wrapped around him. Even in his sweater, he's shivering. "Yeah, I'm anemic, and the whole lockdown thing hasn't been great for my iron deficiency."

Alarm bells go off in your head. "Whoa, wait, what? Karkat, are you okay?"

He puts his hands up at your panicked look. "Don't worry, I brought my iron pills with me. I take them everywhere. But, yeah, not having a good diet is kinda fucking with my body a little. I'm just cold, is all."

You spring up. "I'll get you blankets. And turn up the thermostat." You run off, grab the comfiest blanket from your bed, and set the temperature to 78. You honestly don't give two shits about the electric bill at this point- you just want Karkat to be warm.

He accepts the blanket with a small smile. "Thanks, Dave," he says softly, so genuinely that it hurts you.

"You should've told me sooner that it was a problem, dude."

Karkat shrugs, pulling the blanket around him. "It's really not a big deal."

"Maybe..." You're gonna kick yourself for saying this later, but right now all rational thinking has left the building. "Maybe we could share the blanket. That way my body heat could... keep you warmer."

Karkat stares up at you, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you saying... you want to cuddle?"

You're pretty sure you look like a lit-up Christmas tree. "Uh, yeah. To keep you warm."

Karkat bites his lip, which does nothing to help the thoughts running through your head about how cute he looks bundled in that blanket. Finally, he opens up his blanket cocoon. "Hop on in, Dave."

You scoot under the blankets, hyper-aware of the space between you and Karkat. You sit stiffly, focusing on every point of contact- your thigh barely grazing his, his shoulder digging into your arm. The space under the blanket is stuffy from awkwardness.

"That better?" you ask, tucking the blanket around yourself.

Karkat smiles up at you, and you swear your heart actually skips a beat. "Yeah, it is. Thanks." He unpauses the movie and settles in, leaning into you a little.

As the movie progresses, you slowly grow accustomed to the feeling of Karkat next to you. At some point, he rests his head on your shoulder, and you tense up.

He immediately moves away, his face red. "Sorry, fuck, I should've asked if that was okay."

"No, dude, it's okay, you just surprised me," you say quickly. "I'm totally cool with that, man. We are cuddling, aren't we?"

"Uh... I guess." He tentatively drops his head onto your shoulder again.

Without thinking, you wrap your arm around him, pulling him into you a little. He looks up at you curiously but doesn't say anything, which is good because you might've lost your nerve if he questioned you. Your restless, anxious energy manifests in your fingers lightly tapping against his arm, drumming an irregular rhythm. He doesn't seem to mind- at least, he doesn't mention it or try to stop you.

The rest of the movie plays without incident. It is a pretty good movie- funny, relatable characters, a ridiculous plot, and stoner Charlie Sheen- and you do get invested- you yell at the screen when Cameron wrecks his dad's car, and again when Rooney catches Ferris at the end. It's just not the kind of thing you would peg Karkat for watching.

When the credits roll, you look over at Karkat, who looks sleepy- his eyes are half-closed. "Hey, Karkat?"

"What?" he mumbles, rubbing his eyes.

"Good movie. I'm just wondering why you like it so much."

He straightens up, turning to face you. "It reminds me a lot of how I was in high school. A lot of my problems seemed so huge back then, but now it feels like a lifetime away. It doesn't make those problems any less significant, but it does put it into perspective."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess. Were you more like Ferris or Cameron?"

Karkat snorts. "Are you kidding, Dave? Have you met me?"

"I dunno what you were like in high school. You coulda been a cheerleader for all I know."

He laughs at that. "Well, hate to break it to you, but I was just as much of an ornery asshole then as I am now. Wait, no, I've actually mellowed out since then, believe it or not. So yeah. I'd say I was an angrier, but just as depressed, version of Cameron. Including enough daddy issues and doubts about the future to feed a third world country." He looks you over, contemplative. "I don't even need to ask to know you're a Ferris."

You give an awkward, sad chuckle at that. "Oh, my dear Karkat, you could not be further from the truth."

"Don't fucking play with me, Dave. There's no way you weren't an easygoing, throw-caution-to-the-wind slacker who everybody loved."

"Dude, I was _not_ popular. The cooldude facade kinda pushed everyone away. I was all hells of depressed and I skipped pretty much half of the time and I had absolutely nothing figured out. And don't even get me started on my daddy-slash-brother issues."

Karkat's eyes narrowed, his mouth twisted in disbelief. "I gotta tell you, Dave, this is completely disassembling my perception of you."

"Well, get used to it, man, because my childhood was anything but easygoing."

"Huh." He's still looking at you, reading you with those sharp eyes. You suddenly wish you had your shades on. "Well, I'm tired as fuck, so I'm headed to bed." He extricates himself from your loose hold on him and pushes off of the couch.

"Yo, you can have the blanket, if you need it," you say, standing up and holding out the blanket.

"Oh. You don't need it?"

"Naw, dude, take it."

He obliges, wrapping the blanket over his shoulders. "Thanks, Dave. Seriously, you're a lot better than I expected. You've actually been a good host."

"That kinda stings, but I'll let it slide." You smile at him.

"I just meant that, before this lockdown happened, we didn't get along at all, but now, against all fucking odds, I actually enjoy your presence." He takes a step towards you, pulling your blanket tighter around him. "Is this cool, nice Dave gonna disappear when the quarantine ends?"

"Naw, man, you ain't getting rid of me that easily."

"Great." He yawns, his face scrunching up adorably. "Okay, going to bed now. See you tomorrow. And all of the next week. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Karkat." You watch him walk away, shuffling in the blanket. You head to your own room, laying on your blanket-less bed, a residual smile still on your face.

Fuck, you think you're falling in love.

DAY SEVEN

You've finally run out of sandwich supplies, and your stock of spaghetti noodles and canned sauce is running low. You hoped you could put it off longer, but the day has come.

You have to resort to eating instant ramen.

DAY EIGHT

It didn't really occur to you before this quarantine happened that you wouldn't have access to quick hookups, and now you're really starting to get horny. You don't exactly want Karkat hearing you jerk off, so you do what you can while in the shower. Which usually ends up not being enough.

It really doesn't help that Karkat is so oblivious to how attractive you find him. Like, damn, under different circumstances this lockdown could've been the time of your life- stuck in an apartment, alone with a dude you like, for two weeks. Unfortunately, Karkat does not seem down to fuck. So it's really just torture to hang out with him all day.

But what the fuck else are you gonna do? Make a move? You're kidding yourself if you think you have the balls for that. No, you're just gonna keep languishing in this horny-for-a-dude-who-barely-tolerates-you feeling.

Though, you'd be lying if you said you'd rather anyone other than Karkat be here.

DAY NINE

It's late afternoon, and Karkat has just plopped down on the couch, remote in hand. "So, what're we watching tonight? Another Sandler flick?"

"Actually, I had another idea." You gesture for him to follow you as you make your way to the kitchen.

Karkat watches you curiously as you crouch on your kitchen floor, opening one of the lower cabinets. "What're you- oh." He stops as you reveal a cabinet stocked with alcoholic beverages. "Oh shit."

"We're both bored as hell and I think it's time to spice up our lockdown lives." You pass him a bottle of Jack- you're a classy fucking dude, after all.

"Fuck, you should've just gotten this out day one!"

"To be frank, dude, you weren't exactly my biggest fan at the time. It woulda been a shitshow if we got drunk together." You grab a few more miscellaneous drinks and mix-ins, as well as some plastic shot cups, and carry it all back to the couch, carefully setting it on the coffee table.

"Okay, I'll give you that one." Karkat's back on the couch, opening up the Jack.

"Whoa, slow down there, pardner," you say in your thickest Texan drawl, prying the bottle from his hands. "Why don' we make things a lil more int'restin?"

Karkat glares at you, crossing his arms. "Fine. What do you have in mind?"

"A drinking game, duh." You point to the T.V. "You pick some romcom, and we can take a shot every time miscommunication is a major plot point."

He snorts, picking up the remote again. " _And_ every time they say the word 'love'. I know just the fucking movie to watch. You okay with a Christmas movie?"

"Christmas in April? Hell yeah, dawg." You pop open the Jack and take a swig. It burns your throat as it goes down, filling your chest with warmth.

"Oh, so you get to drink before the movie, but I don't? You're a bitch."

You shrug, grinning. "My apartment, my rules. Put the movie on already."

"Asshole." He snatches the bottle back, giving you the finger as he drinks. Then he hands it back to you so he can find the movie- Love, Actually. "Let's hope you can handle your liquor, Strider, because you're about to get drunk off your ass."

"We'll see about that, Vantas."

He presses play and sits back, a competitive grin on his face. In preparation, you line up a few shots of vodka tonic- you're a responsible adult, after all. A narration kicks in at the beginning, and you hear the word love.

"Hey, not a minute in and we already got our first shot!" As you're saying this, you hear the narrator say the L-word two more times. "Fuck, pause the movie, we aren't gonna be able to fucking keep up. You really did plan this, huh?"

Karkat pauses the movie, chuckling as you pass him a shot. "Maybe a little bit. Question, does it count if someone sings the word 'love'?" He gestures to the paused screen, where a Mick Jagger-looking dude is in the middle of recording some shitty Christmas song.

"I mean, yeah. Why not? Let's get fucked up, Karkat." You each down your three shots. "Hell yeah, unpause." Not a moment later, Mick Jagger sings "Love is all-" and you both take another shot.

"Okay, maybe this was a bad idea," Karkat says as he puts down his empty plastic shot glass. "I'm already starting to feel tipsy."

"And I'm the one who can't handle their liquor. If you really wanna stop, we can, but I'm having a good time so far."

He throws his hands up. "Fuck it. It's not like we have any responsibilities for the next week."

You watch for another few minutes- you take another shot during the song, then three more instances of the word 'love' show up in the scene following the song. "Okay, how many fucking times do these idiots say 'love' in this movie?" you ask, not even bothering to pour those three extra shots.

Karkat shrugs, pausing the movie again. "We could look it up." After a few seconds of Google searching on his phone, he locates a PDF of the script, uses the 'Find on Page' feature to search for instances of 'love' and... "Holy fuck. 154?"

You burst out laughing. "Okay, yeah, we're not playing by your rule anymore. I'm not trying to give us liver failure in our twenties. Let's just take shots when there's miscommunication."

Karkat drops his phone, rolling his eyes. "That's not gonna work, either. I'm just gonna break it to you now, Dave- one of the plot points in this movie is that a dude literally can't speak the same language as the girl he's falling for."

"Yikes. First of all, that's kinda problematic. Second, we'd have to take shots for that entire fucking scene."

"Yeah, it's super problematic, but they film it in a clever way so they seem to be connecting despite the language barrier. And also, yes, there would be a lot of fucking shots. Can we just forget about your stupid drinking game idea and just grab some beers like normal fucking people?"

You frown, idly stacking the shot glasses. "I mean, my idea was rad as hell compared to that boring normal shit, but fine. Like I said, I ain't tryna die from alcohol poisoning. Then this whole quarantine thing woulda been pointless." You grab two beers from the table, handing one to Karkat.

"Dave, why the fuck weren't these in your fridge? Warm beer tastes like piss."

"Well, cold beer just tastes like cold piss, so I don't see what the fucking difference is." You crack it open and chug, then immediately fight to not spit it out. When you finally manage to swallow it, you grimace. "Okay, yeah, you're right, this shit is terrible."

Karkat laughs at you, not even bothering to open his beer. "We can just keep passing the Jack Daniels back and forth."

You place the beer back on the coffee table. "Sounds fine with me. I can pour some coke in there, too, if you're cool with that."

"Go right a-fucking-head."

You turn the bottle of Jack into a bottle of Jack and Coke, and Karkat resumes the movie once again, this time without any further interruptions. It's extremely cheesy, some of the relationships are _questionable_ , the dude who plays Bilbo Baggins has an inexplicable amount of nude scenes, and Alan Rickman, rest in peace, is cheating on his wife, but you're getting drunker throughout and not paying much critical attention to the movie, so you end up enjoying it. It helps that the entire time you and Karkat talk over the movie, giggling like gossiping schoolgirls.

"Dude, imagine if real life worked like this," you say, taking a sip of the nearly-empty Jack bottle. "Like, if I just met some random foreigner who literally did not speak English and I was like 'Yo I don't understand a word he's saying but he's a hot-ass Brazilian model and he stripped to save my manuscript so I think after spending a week with him and not knowing a single thing about him I can totally show up unprompted to his hometown and embarrass him in front of his community and his family to propose to him in broken Portuguese' like that would not fly in the real world the dude would probably yeet my creepy ass into next week, not only because proposing is an insane, psychopath thing to do, but because I look like yesterday's leftovers compared to this whole-ass model. Oh, and I guess in my version of the events it still wouldn't work out cause we're both guys and it turns out him and his family are totally homophobic and traditional as hell. So yeah, it definitely wouldn't work out." You're practically out of breath by the end.

"Jesus, if I knew drinking made you able to somehow talk more than usual, I wouldn't have agreed to this!" Karkat's volume has hitched up to eleven.

"Yeah, well, if I knew drinking made you even louder, I wouldn't have agreed, either. You went from being ear-shattering to incapacitating ever bat within a ten mile radius. Those poor blind dumbasses ain't gonna have working echolocation tonight, not with Karkat Vantas screeching into the abyss. Jeez, you'd think with Terezi as one of your best friends, you'd be more conscientious of the plight of the blind. You're a disappointment, Karkat."

"Dave, shush. Shut up, Dave, just be quiet."

"You only gotta tell me once, man, just because my eardrums have been vaporized doesn't mean I-"

"Shhhhhhh. Shut up." He leans forward, pressing his finger into your lips. "Close that dumbass fucking mouth for one fucking second."

"... That was one second, dude." He doesn't move his finger as you talk. "I counted in my head and every-"

"Shhhhhhhhh!!!" Karkat's leaning really close now, to the point where you can smell the alcohol on his breath, sickly sweet. He pulls his hand away from your mouth. "Have I ever told you about your eyes, Dave?"

You frown, a jolt of panic cutting through your drunken haze. "Uhhh... what about them?"

"They're so special, Dave. They're pretty and red and you hide them away so every time I see them it's like my birthday came early and this is my present. I could stare at them all day."

"Oh." You fidget, uncomfortable. "Most people don't like them. They say my eyes look demonic."

"No!!!! Don't listen to those dumbasses! I'll fucking murder them for having stupid opinions! You're eyes are so beautiful, Dave."

You've never seen this side of Karkat, and it's kind of freaking you out, but God do you love it. "Thanks, Karkat. You're eyes are pretty sweet."

His nose scrunches up. "Grey isn't 'sweet', Dave, it's boring. It's just no color. Yours are so much cooler."

"Naw, man, grey isn't no color. Your grey is this perfect light shade, and it's got a whole fucking ton of variability, and some days it looks almost green or blue and it's the most insanely rad shit I've ever seen. You're so beautiful, Karkat."

He chuckles, shoving you lightly. "You mean my eyes are beautiful. Not me. For a Freudian slip, that one was kinda tame by your standards."

Your alcohol-ruddy cheeks somehow burn brighter. "It wasn't a Freudian slip this time. Poor Sigmund didn't fall down the stairs, he heeded my warning and took an elevator that failed and sent him plummeting to his death. Naw, I meant what I said. You're fucking attractive." Well, the bunny's out of the box now. Time to desperately try to put it back in there. "And I've always thought so, but didn't wanna tell you cause you didn't like me and probably would've thought I was creeping on you like the dude from the movie we were just watching. But now you do like me, so I can tell you I think you look kinda hot without it being weird or creepy, and we can just chill and be cool about it because we're bros now."

You hold your breath as you watch Karkat try to piece together the clusterfuck of reveals that ramble just threw at him. "You... uh... you really find _me_ attractive? Shouty McNubby-Legs?"

"Yes, you're kinda thick, dude, and I don't care if that's awkward to say because it's true. You're thick and you've got this adorably angry face and every rare smile just blows me the fuck away." You manage to cut the ramble short this time, afraid you'll be too obvious if you keep going. "Also, I'm surprised you remember that nickname, dude, I used that weaksauce insult on you like when we first met."

He shrugs, scooting a little closer. His face is fire-hydrant red, though at this point you cant tell if it's from the booze, embarrassment from your awkward compliments, or if he's just flustered by how forward you're being. "Kinda hard to forget your insults, they were always so imaginative. Like mine sometimes are, but you completely discarded your filter years ago and now you just come up with some insane shit. I was completely fucking jealous of your ability to just say anything and fuck the consequences. I was obsessed." He's ridiculously close to you now, nearly sitting on your lap. The movie's credits continue to roll, unnoticed by either of you. "Dave. Dave, you made a lot of confessions just now. I think it's about fucking time I make one."

You lean in, curious. "Oh really? What is-"

He slams into you, lips pressing against yours with a fiery desire that just feels so _him_ , and his breath is hot in your mouth and his teeth are digging into your lower lip and _you are kissing Karkat Vantas, holy shit you're actually kissing this unattainable dude you've wanted for so long_ . His hands slide under your shirt, startlingly cold, and he's pulling away from your lips, kissing along your jaw, panting into your ear.

"Fuck, Dave," he whispers between kissing your neck, suddenly quiet. "I've wanted to do that for so long."

The third (count 'em) surprise of the night. You lower your head to look him in the eyes, and the glaze-over you were expecting from being drunk is just not there- he looks clear-minded and determined as can be for how wasted he is. "Do you really mean that?"

"Yes, Dave, Jesus fucking Christ. I've wanted you since the first day I met you."

"But... I thought you fucking hated me."

Karkat laughs, kissing you hard again. "Would I do that if I hated you? I just thought I could never have you, that you were too good for me, so I fucking pushed you away. And when you fought back, it only confirmed that you could never like me. But then this lockdown happened, and you fucking took care of me and I couldn't ignore it anymore, I just need you, Dave."

You're laughing too, your fingers winding through his hair. It feels like relief. "Karkat, if that ain't the most ironic shit I've heard in my life, because I wanted you, too, but I thought you hated me, so I played along. And then when you got stuck here I thought maybe if I showed you how I really am you could at least learn to tolerate me, but now you're... _fuck_ , Karkat, I can't believe you actually like me, dude, it's so fucking insane to me, I cannot process-"

He kisses you again, and now you've lost count of the surprises. "Shut up, Dave. Don't make me tell you again."

You're practically attacking each other, both desperate to relieve the tension of tiptoeing around each other for so long. His hands trace icy paths along your spine, your shoulders, your chest, and suddenly your shirt is completely off. He's seen your scars before- John's twentieth birthday was a pool party, and at that point you were more comfortable with showing skin- and he must've heard enough from John about them to not question it.

You're laying Karkat down, tugging at his hair with one hand while the other rides up his shirt, feeling his surprisingly defined abs. His cold fingers slip under your waistband, and he grins into your lips, clearly enjoying teasing you. You're completely lost in him, completely giving in to your desire and lust and built-up horniness.

"Are you gonna fucking touch me or what, Karkat? I've been sex-deprived for a whole week."

He smirks up at you before trailing kisses along your shoulder. "I don't know, Dave, I don't think you want it enough."

You grind your hips down, just enough for him to feel how fucking hard you are. He shivers as you pull away. "Trust me, Karkat, I do want it."

"Then stop being an entitled, spoiled bitch and beg for it like you mean it."

You lean close to his ear, licking the earlobe. He shudders against you. "I want you to touch me, Karkat. Please."

"What was that?"

"Please, Karkat. I used the magic fucking word, now give me what I want."

His grin is devilish, charming, and his hand dips into your pants again, one finger trailing the outside of your boxers, making you tense up as he plays with you. "I'm gonna need you to ask again."

"Fuck you, asshole, touch me. Please."

Without warning, Karkat's hand is in your boxers, grabbing your dick, and you actually fucking sigh in relief. He pumps you a few times, kissing you senseless, and everything feels so good, too good, and you never thought you would have this, not with Karkat. You never thought it would be this fast.

Almost too fast.

"Wait, Karkat," you say, gathering enough will power to pull away, but he chases your lips, crashing into them. With more difficulty you break away again, this time putting your arm out as a barrier. "Stop."

Karkat freezes, confusion spreading over his lustful features. "Why stop? I thought we were having a good fucking time."

You sigh, looking away from him. "This isn't... this isn't right."

Karkat pulls his hand out of your pants lightning-quick, his face a mask of terror. "Fuck, no, Dave, don't do this to me. I thought you wanted me."

"I do!" You kiss him, putting as much conviction into it as you can. "I do, Karkat, believe me. But we're both drunk and we're moving too fast and I don't want to rush this, okay? I don't want our first time to be a fucked-up mistake and turn this into another one of my one-night-stands. I want you to be more than that."

He still looks confused, his eyes slightly glazed over. "I don't see why it fucking matters if we're drunk. We obviously both want this, the sex _and_ the relationship, so what's the fucking problem?"

"I wanna take it slow with you, Karkat. You're special to me. Our first time having sex can't be because we were both drunk and horny from being stuck in quarantine."

He pouts, but eventually he sits up. "Fine. I guess I'll just have to deal with this fucking boner on my own."

You laugh, hugging him. "Thanks for understanding, Kark."

"Yeah, whatever, fuck you," he mumbles into your shoulder. "Can we at least make out a little?"

"Of fucking course we can." He kisses you more gingerly this time, though he still nibbles at your lip. You slip your tongue in, the sweet taste of Jack and coke still lingering, and your hands are riding up his shirt again. You tug it off of him, garnering a few complaints from him in the process, and you're stunned by how beautiful he is. You start trailing kisses down his chest, making him giggle a little.

"That fucking tickles, Dave," he says, pulling at your hair as if to bring you back to his lips. In response you lick up his sternum, causing him to jolt away. He's salty, his drunk-sweat creating a light sheen on his chest. Or maybe that was just your saliva. "Ew, fuck you!"

"Not tonight, you won't." You grin at him, before he tugs you back up, slamming into your mouth.

"I can wait. We're alone together for the rest of the lockdown." He rakes his nails down your back, and you arc into him, taking in a surprised breath.

"Then we have plenty of time." You gasp again as he latches onto your neck, biting harder than he should have any right to. "Ow, you asshole."

He immediately pulls back, his eyebrows drawn. "Shit, did I hurt you? Fuck-"

"No, dumbass, I was teasing you. I liked it." You leave little kisses along his shoulder, before sinking your teeth in as well- definitely not with as much force as Karkat used, but still enough to make him jolt.

"Can we take this to your bed?" he whispers in your ear.

You pull away, frowning slightly. "I guess, but don't expect sex, because-"

"No, I know. I'm just... I know I'm gonna get sleepy soon, and I don't wanna fucking pass out on this couch."

You grin as what he's saying hits you. "So you want to sleep with me. In my bed."

He's blushing slightly now, his smile soft. "Yeah. And if it's not 'moving too fast' for you, maybe we could even fucking cuddle."

The words make you happier than they should. "Sounds great to me." Your arms wrapped around Karkat, you pick him up in one smooth motion, holding him against you as you stand up.

He freaks out, clinging to you, his legs wrapped around your waist. "Oh my fucking god, Dave, a little warning next time before you pick me up, maybe?"

"Naw, that makes it less fun." You stumble your way to your room, careful not to trip or drop Karkat as you go. When you get to your room you're reminded of your lack of blankets. "Oh, hold on, lemme grab a blanket," you say, depositing Karkat on the bed.

He glares at you. "Have you been sleeping without a blanket this whole time?"

You shrug. "I dunno what to tell you, man, I just don't get cold. I guess you're just more of a little bitch." You duck out of the room, but not before a pillow hits you in the back of the head. You grab a couple of blankets from Karkat's- or, really John's- bed, then, as an afterthought, pick up your discard shirts from the living room. When you return to your room, Karkat is laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. You dump the pile of blankets on him. "That better?"

He grumbles, squirming out from under the blankets to glare at you. "Fuck you, Dave."

"Fuck you too, cutie." You pull him fully out of the pile, kiss his forehead, his nose, each cheek, and finally his lips. When you break away he's staring at you, wide-eyed with wonder.

"God, Dave, you're fucking perfect. How did I get you?"

"By being an absolutely adorable ball of anger." He rolls his eyes at this, but he can't hide his smile. It's the kind of smile that makes you feel like everything's gonna be alright. "Come on, get up, lemme actually put the blankets on the bed. Oh, and I brought your shirt too, in case you get cold."

He snorts as you hand him his shirt, watching you lay out the blankets. "I think I'll be warm enough with you cuddling me. Your body's like a goddamn furnace."

You shrug, secretly glad he's keeping his shirt off. "Suit yourself." You smooth out the last blanket layer, grinning at him. "Is the bed made to your liking, my liege?"

He shoves you, laughing. "You're so fucking weird sometimes, Strider. Yes, the bed is fine, can we get in it or will that mess up your masterpiece?"

"Dude, this art is meant to be lived in. So climb aboard the snuggle express, we're going for the slowest, most comfortable ride of our lives." You both get under the covers, then situate yourselves so that you face each other. "Hey there, hot stuff," you whisper, winking.

"Hey yourself, asshole."

"Wow, rude, I call you 'hot stuff' and you repay me with-"

He cuts you off with a kiss, his hands on your shoulders, pressing himself up against you. "I think I found my new favorite way of shutting you up."

"If you think a mere kiss can shut me up, you're sorely mistaken. This mouth is unstop-" Another kiss forces you to stop talking.

"Seems pretty effective to me."

"Okay, fine, whatever. But it's not gonna work every time."

"We'll fucking see about that, Strider." He stifles a yawn, pressing his hand to his mouth.

"Oh, is Karkat sleepy?" you tease, poking his adorably small nose. He scowls at you, making as if to bite your finger.

"No, I'm not. I could stay up all night."

"You sound pretty tired to me, man. Come on, turn around, I'll be big spoon."

"Fuck you, I'm not tired!" He struggles against you as you grab him, flipping him over with some difficulty. You hug him to your chest, locking his arms in place. He aims a backwards kick at you, snarling.

"Calm down, there, kiddo, you're gonna hurt yourself."

"Let go of me, asshole!" He chomps down your hand, harder than necessary.

"Ow!" You let go of him, accessing the minimal damage to your hand. "Jesus, Karkat, lay off on the biting."

He squirms away from you, scowling. "I wouldn't have to bite you if you didn't hold me against my will."

You roll your eyes. "All I want is to cuddle, and this is what I get? An aggressive asshole for a boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Karkat's cheeks are bright red, the anger gone from his face.

You freeze, looking away. "I mean, uh, if that's what you... if that's what this is."

"Dave Strider, are you officially asking me out?"

"Only if you say yes." You sneak a glance at Karkat.

He grins at you. "You're kind of an asshole, but sure. I'll date you."

You open your arms up. "Can we cuddle without you biting me, then?"

"Fine." He flops down next to you, his bare back against your chest, his hair tickling your nose. You drape one arm around his chest, pulling him closer.

"Comfortable?"

"Sure." He scoots back, his perfectly round ass just getting all up in your zone, and you can't help but think of all the things you're gonna do to that ass one day when you're sober. He looks up at you with a wink.

"Okay, that move you pulled right there was so unfair."

He snorts. " _I'm_ unfair? You're the one who wants to take it slow." As payback, you thrust forward ever so slightly, and he tenses. "Oh, fuck you, you complete asshole."

"I get it, dude, you wanna fuck me, but I already told you it ain't happening tonight."

"This is fucking torture and you know it."

"Aw, c'mon, you don't like cuddling with me?"

"I _would_ if you didn't make me horny every five seconds!"

You laugh, pulling him closer. "Wow, so sorry, didn't realize I was too attractive for you to handle."

"I'm probably gonna regret admitting this, but you are."

"Yeah, I'm definitely gonna hold that over you for the rest of your life. Literally. It's gonna dangle over you like mistletoe, just out of reach of your short little arms, so you can't knock it down in time to avoid kissing me. Get over here, give Santa a smooch."

"I am not kissing you for the sole reason that you called yourself 'Santa'."

You touch your lips to his shoulder, light as a feather. "You sure? He heard that's what you wanted for Christmas. A big fucking smooch right on the lips."

He sighs. "Okay, fine, yes, maybe I want a kiss. But from my _boyfriend_ , who, last time I checked, was Dave Strider, not fucking Kris Kringle." He turns his head towards you, just enough so that you can kiss him- a few times, no need to ration them like you're running out of them. He smiles into them, his eyes fluttering closed.

"How do you know Dave Strider isn't also Kris Kringle? Have you ever seen me and Santa in the same room together? Hell, have you ever even seen me on Christmas?"

He rolls his eyes at you, tucking himself back into your chest. "We're gonna have to fucking change that. Like hell if I'm not spending next Christmas with you."

"If we're still together by then, and if the world is still intact by the end of this pandemic, then I don't see why not."

"Fuck, Dave, that's sad. Can we have Christmas early this year? Just in case, for whatever reason, we can't spend real Christmas together?"

You chuckle at him, ruffling his hair. "Sure, Karkat. We can have early Christmas. I mean, we already watched Love, Actually. Not that I was sober enough to pay attention. But for now, I think we should go to sleep."

He yawns again, pulling the blankets tighter around you two. "Sounds good to me. Goodnight, asshole."

"Goodnight, cutie."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my boys got over their stupidity yay!  
> also yes i did look up how many times the word 'love' is in love actually lol  
> thanks for reading! i appreciate any and all comments


	3. Day 10-14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lil more smut but nothing too hot to handle

DAY TEN 

You wake up with a killer headache, your brain feeling like it's splitting in two. Honestly, fuck hangovers, you don't know why you bother getting that drunk.

Except, even though your head feels stuffed with cotton, you know you have a boyfriend now, and that boyfriend is Karkat Vantas, and he's sleeping shirtless in your arms, snoring like a lawnmower and drooling a little, but he's still beautiful, his hair a wild dark cloud framing his face, and-

Fuck. You have to throw up. Careful not to wake Karkat, you slip out of the bed as fast as possible, stumble to the bathroom, and make it just in time to expel the contents of your stomach in the toilet. You then rinse out your mouth and brush your teeth about five times to get the taste of bile off your tongue.

You pop back into your room to see Karkat still sleeping soundly. You want to climb back in bed, but you don't want to disturb Karkat, so you just give him a little peck on the forehead before heading to the kitchen to make both of you coffee. Lord knows he's gonna need it when he wakes up.

As it's brewing, you clean up the living room- picking up the empty bottles and throwing them away, stowing the rest back in the cabinet, putting the beer in the fridge where it belongs.

Thinking back on last night makes your chest fuzzy with good feelings. You just hope Karkat feels the same way, that he doesn’t feel regret instead. He seemed pretty sure of his feelings last night, but you were both pretty drunk, so who knows.

You hear a thud come from your bedroom, followed by a groan. You make your way to your room to find Karkat on the floor, his legs tangled up in blankets. “Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. It seems you fell out of bed.”

He scowls at you, squinting in the midday light. “Fuck, I feel like absolute dogshit.” You help him up, and he clutches his head. “Do I smell coffee?”

“Yeah, dawg, it’s a good enough hangover cure for me and I thought you might want some too.”

He staggers away from you, towards the bathroom. “Keep it hot for me.” You move back toward the kitchen to give him some privacy, but you definitely still hear him retching.

When he comes into the kitchen, you have a mug ready for him. “Thanks, Dave.” He sits on the counter, sipping at his coffee, staring at you. “So…”

You watch him expectantly. “What, Kark?”

He rubs his face, scrunching up his eyebrows. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember us making out last night. A lot.”

“Yep, you’re right, that is definitely something that happened.”

“And you asked me out and I said yes.”

Panic is starting to thrum in you, but you push it down, acting nonchalant. If he decides against dating you, you don’t want him to know how hurt you are. “Yeah, that also happened.”

He sighs, smiling. “Good. I was afraid I imagined it all.”

You smile back, relief flooding through you. “Dude, I think waking up in my bed should’ve been enough of a hint.”

“I needed to make sure. I mean, it’s fucking insane to me that you like me.”

“I know, man, you’re kind of an asshole, but I find it endearing.”

He glares at you over the rim of his mug. “I would punch you for that if I didn’t have a splitting headache right now.”

“Naw, that’d be domestic abuse, babe. You wouldn’t wanna do that, would you?” You sit next to him, grinning.

He rolls his eyes. “Some of the shit you say should be considered verbal abuse, too.”

You kiss his cheek, making him blush. “There. Does that make up for it?”

“... I’ll accept it as payment.” You laugh at that, and kiss him again, on the lips this time, and it still feels just as fantastic as the first time, as every other time you kissed Karkat.

“So what d’you want to do today, sweetcheeks?” you ask.

He scowls at the pet name, his eyebrows furrowing. “First of all, don’t fucking call me that, I’m not _sweet_.”

“I dunno, babe, you were pretty fucking sweet last night.” You wink at him, before he shoves you, not quite hard enough to make you fall over or spill your coffee or anything.

“Just because you said that, we’re watching romcoms all day.”

You roll your eyes. “Dude, what’s even the point? We’re already practically living a romcom. Two guys who pretend they hate each other get stuck in quarantine, get drunk one night, and end up dating? That’s fucking textbook romcom plot right there.”

Karkat blushes, burying his head in the one hand not holding coffee. “Oh fuck, it is. Shit, we really are a living, breathing trope. I can’t believe we were that fucking clueless.”

“Well, hopefully we can fix our shitty communication skills now that we’re dating.”

“Okay, seriously, though, you should’ve fucking realized I didn’t hate you when I decided to stay here. I could’ve easily quarantined alone in my apartment.”

You shrug. “I dunno, dude, I guess I just thought you cared about your health enough to overlook that you hated me.”

He shakes his head in disbelief. “Fuck, maybe we _should_ watch more romcoms. So we can study them and avoid continuing to be complete dumbasses. If our track record is any indication, one of us is probably going to fuck this up.”

You laugh, causing a spike of pain to go through your head. _Fuck_ hangovers. “Shit, dude, you’re just looking for excuses to force me to watch more fucking romcoms.” You grab his free hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “Besides, we don’t need to study fucking Dane Cook. I ain’t planning on fucking this up anytime soon.”

He smiles up at you, and damn, it still gets your heart racing. You’re never gonna get tired of seeing him look happy. “Me neither.”

You spend the rest of the day cuddling under a pile of blankets on the couch, watching more movies- and _not_ just romcoms, as you use your powers of persuasion (and a few kisses) to convince Karkat to let you pick some of the movies. As the night winds down, you end up with a snoring boyfriend laying on top of you, trapping you on the couch.

But you wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

DAY ELEVEN

Sleeping on the couch wasn’t your brightest idea- you wake up with achy joints and a twinge in your neck. But you also get a sleepy Karkat tucked into your side, and sure, maybe he’s drooling on your shirt a little, and his hair’s an absolute disaster, but you wouldn’t have him any other way.

You shake him awake gently, because, despite not wanting to bother him, you do want to get up. He groans, swatting your hand away. “Five more minutes,” he mumbles, burying further into your shirt.

“Ugh, Karkat, just let me get up.” With some difficulty, you detach him from where he’s clinging to you and roll off the couch, nearly hitting your head on the coffee table. The things you’ll sacrifice for love. “You better wake up soon, or I’m gonna get lonely.”

Karkat just pulls the blanket over his head, disappearing into the couch. God, you love this dork.

You pad into the kitchen, checking your supplies, which are unsurprisingly low. Fuck. It looks like one of you will have to brave a grocery store trip to stock up. “Hey, Karkat?”

“It hasn’t been five minutes yet.” His voice is muffled from under the blanket.

“If you’re awake enough to keep track of that, you’re awake enough to get your ass over here.”

More groaning from the couch, then Karkat is slowly making his way to you, the blanket wrapped around him. Absolutely adorable. He glares at you from under it. “Happy, asshole?”

You pull him closer, giving him a peck on the forehead. “Very. We have a problem, though.” You gesture at your near-empty cabinets and fridge, frowning. “We’re running out of food.”

Karkat frowns, leaning into your side, his eyes half-closed. “Can’t we just… order delivery or some shit?”

“We don’t know how long this lockdown thing is gonna be. They said two weeks, but it might be longer. Which means we need stuff that’ll last longer than takeout.”

“Fuck. Guess we’re going grocery shopping.”

“Correction- _I’m_ going grocery shopping. You’re gonna sit your ass here and wait for me and not expose yourself to the virus.”

All the sleepiness in Karkat’s eyes vanishes, replaced by indignation. You guess riling him up is one way to get him to wake up quicker. “Fuck that! You’re just gonna come back and give it to me anyway!”

“Naw, listen, dude, if both of us goes, it doubles the chances that one of us gets exposed.”

“That is the fucking dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. I’m gonna be with you the whole time. I’ll be just as exposed as you are.”

“What about your, uh, being anemic? Doesn’t that put you more at risk?”

Karkat snorts, rolling his eyes. “Iron deficiency doesn’t affect my immune system, Dave.”

You groan in frustration, burying your hands in your hair. “Just… don’t come. Please.”

Karkat’s eyes soften. “I know you’re worried about me, but _I’m_ worried about _you_ , too.” He teases your hands out of your hair, holding them tightly, reassuringly. “You don’t have to protect me.”

It’s the unfamiliar gentleness in his voice that makes you cave. “Fine. But I’m gonna lay out some ground rules. You don’t get to leave my side, or get within ten feet of another person, or touch your face. Actually, don’t touch anything, period, and don’t breathe, and-”

“ _Dave_. I’m not a fucking infant.”

“I _know_.”

“Plus, it’s not like I was exactly the biggest fan of interacting with strangers before the world decided to shit its pants. I’m not about to start schmoozing up to them now.”

“Okay, I get it, Mr. Antisocial. Just try to stick to Strider’s Social Distancing Guidelines. Stridelines for short.”

After getting dressed appropriately for the weather, you drive to the grocery store, blasting one of your mixes. Karkat makes fun of it, but you can see him bobbing his head along- you know your shit is straight fire. You park in a relatively close spot- it’s still early, so the hoards have yet to arrive- and walk toward the entrance, holding Karkat’s hand to keep him from straying too far from you and _for no other reason_.

Wait. You’re dating him now. No need to lie to yourself about why you want to hold Karkat Vantas’ hand.

You’re holding his hand because you _want_ to.

Anyway.

You enter the grocery store, grabbing a cart after giving the handle a thorough wipe-down. You grab the stuff you need- at least, the stuff that’s still in stock- while giving the other customers an unnecessarily wide berth. Every time Karkat reaches for an item, you practically push him out of the way to get it for him, offhandedly reminding him of the ‘Stridelines’. The tic in his jaw betrays how much you’re annoying the shit out of him, and he’s probably gonna unload a rant or five on you when you’re out of the public’s scrutiny, but you don’t really care, as long as you can keep him from touching anything.

The checkout line is the worst. He insists on helping you load the items onto the conveyor belt, having to grit his teeth to keep from yelling at you in the store. There’s not much you can do to stop him that wouldn’t raise the eyebrow of the poor cashier, who’s already watching you guys with an apathetically suspicious gaze, so you begrudgingly let him. You have another silent disagreement when he starts helping the cashier bag the items. You can’t do anything but lower your shades to glare at him.

You pay and push the cart out of the store, nearly running Karkat over in your haste to leave. He shoots a murderous look at you as he stumbles out of the way, waiting for you to clear the aisle before falling into step next to you. As soon as you’re out of earshot of the cashier, you turn on him.

“Dude, you broke the Stridelines. Not fucking cool.”

He rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “Dave, your ‘Stridelines’ were utter fucking garbage that deserve to be launched into the sun. I lost count of how many times you nearly punched me in the face trying to make sure I didn’t grab a fucking _box of cereal_.”

“I told you not to touch anything, which, as far as I’m concerned, is a pretty simple rule. It requires you to do- wait for it- absolutely fuck all. So I don’t see how that it was such a federal fucking issue for you to listen to me.” You’re in the parking lot now, speed walking to your car. Karkat’s shorter legs are working double time to keep up.

“It’s because you’re treating me like I’m some helpless, fragile porcelain vase or some shit! I don’t know if you can tell, Strider, so I’ll set the record straight. I’m not a porcelain vase. I’m a fucking adult, which means _I_ have free will to decide what _I_ can and cannot do and _I_ deal with the consequences. You don’t get to fucking dictate that for me.”

Your grip on the cart tightens. “I’m just trying to protect you, asshole. You’d think a man would get a little gratitude up in here. ‘Oh, thanks, Knight Strider, for rescuing me from the deadly coronavirus.’”

“No, you’re not getting a single _atom_ of gratitude, because you’re being fucking condescending, Dave. Your hero complex is just demeaning to all the people you think you need to save.”

Ouch. You didn’t think he would poke such a sensitive spot, or that he even knew you had that specific sensitive spot. Is he that perceptive or does he not realize how much that stings? You fall silent, battling the heavy creature writhing deep in your stomach, anthropomorphized self-loathing tearing at your insides.

He glances at you when you don’t jab him with a comeback, then his eyebrows furrows. He must see something on your face that you can’t conceal behind the Strider stoicism. “Dave?”

“What?” Your voice is brittle, snappy, and you don’t like how obviously hurt it sounds.

“Fuck, did I say something wrong?”

“Can we just drop it?” You’ve made it to your car, and begin unloading bags into the trunk. Karkat grabs a few, too, and you don’t even try to get him to stop.

“What the fuck? No, we can’t ‘drop it’! I clearly said something that bothered you, so it’d be great if you let me know exactly what that was so I can avoid being a complete dumbass in the future.”

“Oh, wow, I definitely feel better knowing your reason is selfish as hell and has nothing to do with wanting to, oh I don’t know, apologize.”

“Fuck, Dave, that’s not what I meant. Of course I’m going to fucking apologize, but I can’t do that until I know what I did wrong! Because I really don’t like that I made you upset. That’s not what I wanted.”

“Then maybe you should’ve just followed my damn guidelines in the first place.” You finish loading up the groceries and slam the trunk, a little harder than necessary. “That’s part one of ‘what Karkat did wrong’, by the way. Not listening to my simple fucking instructions.” You make your way to the driver’s side, hoping Karkat will split to the other side of the car. He follows you instead, clearly not done with this conversation.

“I already _know_ that, and I’ve explained why I thought your guidelines were bullshit. What I don’t know is which thing I said pissed you off.”

You pause with one hand on the car door handle, staring at your reflection in the window. You don’t see yourself, though. Every part of you just looks so much like _him_. Fuck genetics. “I’m not Bro.”

The words were directed more at yourself than Karkat, but he hears it anyway. “What?”

You turn on him, your voice harsher than you expect. “I’m not like my brother, okay? I’m not trying to belittle you, and I’m not a fucking control freak like he was. I’m not trying to be some hero, okay? I just want to protect you.”

Karkat stares at you with a pained expression, reaching a tentative hand to your face to wipe away a tear- _when did you start crying? Striders don’t cry_ \- with his thumb. “I’m sorry, Dave. Shit. I didn’t realize…”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. Look, I don’t know what issues you had with your brother, but I’ve seen the scars. I know shit’s obviously fucked up. You don’t have to tell me about it now, obviously, but… fuck, you know I wasn’t trying to bring that up, right? I wouldn’t do that.”

You nod, sniffling slightly. “I know.” His hand is still caressing your cheek, cold and soft.

“I appreciate the guidelines, Dave. I get why you would want to ‘protect’ me. But you have to understand that I don’t need to be protected.”

You look away, lay your hand over his, and pull it away from your face, cradling it in your palm. “Can we just go home?” He laces his fingers through yours, a somewhat disappointed look on his face. He obviously wants to keep discussing this until you both reach an agreement, but you’re tired and stressed from being in public for this long. “We can talk about this later.”

He purses his lips, contemplative. “Okay,” he says finally, releasing your hand. “Let’s go.”

The drive back is cloyingly silent, the sounds of the road and your mixes not adequate distraction from the thoughts crowding your head.

What if dating Karkat _was_ a mistake? Though you’ve known him for a few years now, thanks to John, you two rarely interacted, and when you did it was with false, exaggerated animosity. Sure, you admired him from afar, could see a lot of his real personality when he talked with your other friends, and you began having feelings for the person he was behind his veil of hate. But you had no clue how you guys would operate as friends, let alone as _boyfriends_. Hell, you’re not even sure you know much about each other at all. Maybe this whole thing was rushed by alcohol and infatuation and this _fighting_ thing really was what you were best suited to with Karkat.

But while you’re stopped at a red light, you look over at him, and he’s staring out the passenger window with an overly-concerned gaze, worrying at his bottom lip, and a pang rips through your chest. No. You know who Karkat Vantas is. You’ve spent the last week and a half stuck in an apartment with him. He’s stubborn and passionate and caring and just a genuinely good dude. You know enough about him to know that this is more than just some overblown crush- you really fucking like him. Even if he is an obstinate asshole who doesn’t listen to you sometimes.

You reach over the center console to grasp his hand, and he jumps, shooting you a startled look. You keep your eyes on the road, and not just because the light turned green- you don’t know if you have the strength to make eye contact with him while saying this. “I’m sorry. For getting so worked up about the guidelines. They really were bullshit.”

You can see him frown in your peripheral vision. “No, Dave, I’m the one who should be fucking apologizing. I pushed back way more than necessary, when you were just trying to keep me safe.”

“Shut up, dumbass, this is _my_ apology, don’t try to steal this from me.” You exhale, tapping one finger on the steering wheel. “I overreacted. Like, yeah, this virus is hella dangerous, but some of my rules were ridiculous. I was just so focused on making sure you didn’t get near anything potentially harmful. If you got the virus from something that _I_ could’ve prevented, it would fuck me up. I’m not tryna lose you right after I finally got you.”

Karkat squeezes your hand, his face melting into a small smile. “I’m not going anywhere, Dave. I promise. Corona ain’t got shit on me.”

You smile back. “So, uh, yeah. I deeply apologize for having my head shoved up my ass. Apology accepted?”

“Only if _you_ accept the apology _I’m_ about to make.”

“Better be a good apology, then.” You grin cheekily at him.

He snorts. “Okay, how’s this? I’m sorry for acting like a pubescent rebellious teenager and not following your Stridelines. And I’m sorry for accidentally dredging up bad memories for you.”

“Apology accepted. You didn’t know that comment was gonna scratch at my deepest insecurities.”

This gets an awkward chuckle from Karkat. “Are we good now? Can we stop being mad at each other for this stupid shit?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Good, because that fucking sucked. I never wanna get mad at you again.”

“Amen to that, Vantas.”

You don’t know why you ever doubted this. How could you when you feel so _right_ when you’re with him?

You spend the rest of the day binging Tiger King and enjoying the first real, non-instant meal in five days.

DAY TWELVE

You and Karkat are halfway through your third movie of the night- you convinced him, with little difficulty, to rewatch Into the Spider-verse with you. You’re not sure why he agreed, since both of you have already seen it multiple times, but you guess it’s just that good. Or maybe you both wanted to put on something that neither of you had to pay much attention to. A bowl of microwave popcorn, which you’d picked up at the store yesterday, sits empty and forgotten on the coffee table.

Karkat is sitting sideways in your lap, his back against the couch’s armrest. You have one arm around him, while the other lays over his legs. He keeps turning to kiss you every few minutes, distracting you both from the movie, which you know by heart anyway.

An especially heady kiss evolves into a makeout, and you pause the movie, because at this point no one is watching, and Spider-verse doesn’t deserve that. His hands are traveling up your arms, wrapping around your shoulders, and you’re pulling him closer, the hand on his legs gripping his thigh. He kisses along your jaw, then attacks your mouth. He tastes like salt and artificial butter, not that you can complain; you’re sure you taste the exact same. He’s straddling you now, his hands darting under your shirt, and you _want_ him, holy fuck.

“Should we… take this to… my bedroom?” you ask between kisses, gripping his hips.

He pulls away, narrowing his eyes at you. “Are you sure you want to?”

You roll your eyes, exasperated. You _know_ he can feel your boner through your joggers. Shit’s kinda hard to contain. “Yeah, Karkat, I’m pretty fucking sure.”

“It’s just that last time you didn’t want to.”

“That’s because we were both wasted, and we had _just_ figured out we liked each other. I didn’t want us to fuck and then regret it the next day.” You lean in to kiss him again, but he evades you once more, still giving you a questioning look.

“Are you _completely_ sure?”

Instead of responding, you wrap your arms tight around him and stand up, picking him up with you.

He panics, clinging to you, his legs flailing. “Dave, what the fuck?!”

“Relax, babe, I got you.” You make your way to your room, carrying Karkat the whole time. “You’re heavier than I expected, but don’t worry, Mr. Strider can handle you.”

“Put me _down_ , asshole, I can walk!”

“Naw, man, I gotta prove to you that I am one hundred percent set on fucking you tonight.” You drop him on your bed, grinning down at him. “That is, if you want that, too.”

Karkat’s eyes narrow. “Are you fucking kidding me, Dave? Of _course_ I do.”

“Bet.” You kiss him, rough, pushing him down, harder than necessary, until he’s laying down, staring up at you with those beautiful gray eyes. Your knees are planted on either side of his chest, one hand tugging at his hair, the other pressed into the bed, holding you suspended above him.

Karkat makes a low growl, deep in his throat, and you can’t lie, that sound does some things to you. He grabs you and, with strength you didn’t know he had, throws you off of him, flipping you both so that he’s on top. He pulls your arms above your head, pinning your hands down with one well-placed forearm, and leans close to your ear, his voice husky. “Let me make myself abundantly fucking clear so you get it through that thick skull of yours. _I’m_ in charge here. Got it?”

Fuck, that’s hot. You nod, grinning crookedly. “Got it.”

“Good.” His free hand darts under your shirt, raking your chest with barely-there nails, and you shudder. “You better fucking behave yourself.”

You can’t get a response out before his mouth is on yours, violently intense. His teeth tear into your lower lip- damn, he loves to bite- and you lose yourself in him. He soon releases your arms to explore underneath your shirt with both hands, and you bury your own hands in his hair, pulling him closer.

Eventually the shirts come off, the pants following after a few seconds of awkward maneuvering. One of your hands gravitates to his ass, getting a good handful of it, and he lets out a little gasp, making you snicker.

“Damn, dude, you’ve got some _ass_ right here.” You squeeze again, smirking. “Seriously, it almost makes up for my complete lack of butt cushion.”

His hand travels lower, trying to find purchase on your ass, but there’s barely anything for him to grab. “Fuck, Dave, you really do have fucking nothing there.”

“It’s my one fatal flaw. Achilles had his heel, I have my nonexistent ass. Let’s hope there aren’t any Trojans around to shoot an arrow in it.”

Karkat snorts, trailing kisses down your chest. “Last time I checked, I wasn’t Greek, so I think you’re safe.”

“Thank Christ.” His mouth is getting dangerously close to the waistband of your boxers, and at this point you can’t handle the tension in your netherregions. “Jesus, Karkat, you’re driving me a little crazy over here.”

“Oh, am I? And why is that?” He grins up at you wickedly, his chin digging into your stomach, one of his hands grasping your hip.

“I dunno, maybe because I’ve been horny for the past week and couldn’t get off.”

“And what do you want _me_ to do about that?”

You really are dating an asshole, aren’t you. “Here’s a suggestion- suck me off.”

“Hmmm.” His hand travels to hover over your crotch, and every muscle in your body tenses in anticipation. “Did you forget who’s in charge here? _I_ decide what we do, Dave.”

“What if I ask nicely?

Karkat snorts. “I don’t think you know how.”

“You’re right, I don’t. So just give me head already, you know you want to.”

“Funny, because I specifically remember wanting _you_ to give _me_ head. Among other things, of course.”

“That doesn’t explain why your mouth traveled towards my zone.”

“You ever considered that maybe I like teasing you?” Karkat sits up, moving away from your dick- much to your disappointment- and straddling your chest. “If you _really_ want head so bad, you shouldn’t have let me overpower you. Come on, try to flip me over, I fucking dare you.”

“Actually, I’m enjoying the view from down here, so thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”

He laughs at that, licking his lips subconsciously. “Then don’t fucking complain about what I do and don’t do. You’re just gonna have to sit there and accept whatever I give you.”

You grip his thighs, grinning up at him. “Fine by me, let’s just hurry it up a bit. Lovin’ the foreplay and all, but I kinda want to get to the fucking part.”

“Naw, I’m gonna take my time. We’ve got the rest of the quarantine together.”

“Okay, I like the implications of that. Lead the way, Captain Vantas.”

You proceed to have what is probably the best night of your life.

DAY THIRTEEN

It’s around lunchtime when you get the text from Rose.

\--- tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] \---

TT: So. You and Karkat finally got over yourselves. Congratulations.

TG: wait what

TG: how do you know

TG: who told you

TT: Kanaya. That should’ve been obvious.

TT: I understand why you didn’t jump the gun to tell me, or any of your friends for that matter, but I can’t say I’m not disappointed.

You look up from your phone at Karkat, who’s in the middle of eating a sandwich, blithely unaware of your situation. “Kark, did you tell Kanaya about us?”

Karkat shrugs, chewing. “Yeah.”

“You didn’t think to ask me first?”

Karkat’s chewing slows, a confused look slipping onto his face. “Should I have?”

You frown. “I dunno, I hadn’t really… thought about telling anyone yet.”

“Do you have a problem with it? I mean, I couldn’t just _not_ tell Kanaya.” Karkat puts the sandwich down, folding his hands on the table.

“I guess not… I just wish you’d told me.”

“Well, now you know. Are there any friends I shouldn’t tell?”

“No… In fact, fuck it. There’s no reason to not tell everyone, right? It’s been a few days, we’re sure as hell about this, why not make it official? Change our relationship status on Facebook, delete our Tinders, announce it on Color Rumpus Asshole Party or whatever that groupchat is called.” You’re being facetious, as usual, but it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea to you. Letting the whole world know you’re finally dating Karkat Vantas? Hell yeah.

Karkat laughs, pulling out his phone. “I can text the group right now, if you really don’t mind.”

“Yeah, go ahead, dude, let all those suckers know that Mr. Vantas’ hot ass is no longer available.” This gets another laugh out of Karkat. “That ass is _my_ property now. See that sign hanging above his fanny? Got my name right there on it, plain as day. You _know_ I put up some ‘Beware of Dog’ signs, too, so every thief’s gonna think twice before tryna trespass _here_. Not that I actually have a fucking dog or anything, I just gotta make sure no one steals my newly acquired stake in the priceless stock that is my boyfriend’s ass.”

“Stop objectifying my ass, Dave,” Karkat says, rolling his eyes, though there’s a clear smile on his face. He’s typing up a storm on his phone.

“Sorry to inform you, dude, but your ass is big enough that it counts as a separate entity now. It’s got its own social security number and driver’s license and everything. It gets counted in the census this year, under the new ‘Ass So Phat It Factors Into The U.S. Population’ category.”

“You’re the most ridiculous person I’ve ever fucking met, why am I dating you?”

“Because you find my rambling charming?” You raise your eyebrows.

“Definitely not.”

You look back down at your phone, where Rose is still texting you.

TT: Dave?

TT: Let me guess, your new boyfriend is distracting you.

TT: I suppose you have no need to come crying to your dear old cousin now that you have Karkat to spew your problems to.

TT: I mourn the loss of our impromptu therapy sessions. They will be sorely missed.

TG: shut up rose you know i'm still gonna give you plenty of material to psychoanalyze

TG: probably even more now

TG: i mean

TG: there are gonna be so many new complex layers for you to dig into now that i'm dating the enigma that is karkat vantas

TG: forget about 7 layer dip this shits more layered than the earths crust

TG: those little strips of limestone right there are my anxieties about committing to a relationship

TG: oh and over here we got some shale thats just my fear of inadequacy

TG: see rose you got nothing to worry about

TT: I do see. Thank you for enlightening me, Dave.

TT: I think this goes without saying, but I’m happy for you.

TT: As someone who was privy to far too many of your ‘gay panic attacks’ when it came to your feelings towards Karkat, it is a relief to hear that everything worked out between you two.

TG: thanks lalonde

TG: snarky bullshit aside i appreciate it

TG: okay hold on my dumbass boyfriend is blowing up rainbow rumpus fucktown or whatever so im gonna check on that

TG: but we still gotta catch up about shit so ill pop back here in a bit

TG: i mean damn we havent even really talked during this whole quarantine thing

TG: i bet youre having a blast with kanaya huh

TT: That is certainly one way of putting it.

TT: I’m especially interested by your choice of the word “blast”.

TG: ew what the fuck lalonde

TG: i did NOT need to read that

TG: please never drop hints about the shit you do with your girlfriend

TG: i dont want to picture what my cousin gets up to at night

TT: Oh, Dave. You know I can’t “get up” to anything.

TT: I don’t have a penis.

TG: jesus fucking christ

TG: later lalonde

TG: im reconsidering whether ill actually come back and keep talking to you after you blew my brain apart with that mental imagery

TT: I’ll be waiting.

You hop over to the group chat, trying to dispel the mental image of Rose and Kanaya getting down and dirty as you catch up on what Karkat’s said.

\--- carcinoGeneticist [CG] began pestering chat ‘FRUITY RUMPUS ASSHOLE FACTORY’ ---

CG: LISTEN UP SHITHEADS.

CG: I’VE GOT A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT.

CG: AS MANY OF YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW

CG: DAVE AND I HAVE BEEN STUCK IN QUARANTINE TOGETHER.

CG: I’M SURE A LOT OF YOU UNINFORMED ASSSNIFFERS ARE PROBABLY THINKING

CG: “OH SNAP, DAVE AND KARKAT HATE EACH OTHER! HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY SURVIVE BEING STUCK AT HOME TOGETHER? HOUSETRAPPED, IF YOU WILL.”

CG: WELL, I’VE BEEN GIVEN THE UNFORTUNATE DUTY OF SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT.

EB: karkat please do not tell me you killed dave.

CG: WHAT THE FUCK.

EB: i would be extremely angry if that were the case!

EB: i shouldn’t have stayed with rox and janey. i knew you guys were a blood bath waiting to happen.

EB: and now my best bro is dead.

EB: :(

CG: EGBERT, PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

CG: SHUT YOUR MISSHAPEN HORRORSHOW OF A MOUTH AND LET ME FINISH.

CG: DAVE IS *NOT* DEAD.

CG: HE IS PERFECTLY FINE.

CG: IN FACT HE’S PROBABLY BETTER THAN USUAL

CG: IF I HAD TO GUESS.

GG: dave is dead?!?

GG: oh no!!!! how did this happen?

CG: JESUS. FUCKING. CHRIST.

CG: LET ME REPEAT, BEFORE THE REST OF YOU BRAINLESS ASSHOLES GET ANY FUNNY IDEAS.

CG: DAVE IS ****NOT**** DEAD.

TT: This whole scenario is starting to sound awfully suspicious.

TT: You better explain yourself quick, Vantas, because if I hear you hurt my brother I might have to break the rules of this quarantine to pay you a visit.

CG: HOLD YOUR GODDAMN HORSES, STRIDER.

CG: I PROMISE YOUR STUPID BROTHER IS COMPLETELY OKAY.

CG: ALSO, YOU’RE IN FUCKING TEXAS! HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET TO NEW YORK?

TT: I have my ways.

GG: Dirk told me there was a crime to sleuth out!

GG: Detective Jane Crocker is on the case.

GG: Now what’s this about Dave being dead?

GC: H3H3H3H3

GC: 1 DON’T KNOW WH4T’S GO1NG ON BUT 1 WOULD LOV3 TO W4TCH K4RK4T G3T H1S 4SS K1CK3D

TA: ii 2econd the motiion.

TA: all iin favor of 2eeiing kk get what2 comiing two hiim?

CG: HOLY FUCK

CG: WHY DID I EVER THINK DOING THIS IN A TWENTY-PERSON GROUP CHAT WAS A GOOD IDEA?

CG: CAN YOU ASSHOLES SHUT THE HELL UP FOR TWO GODDAMN SECONDS SO I CAN ACTUALLY TELL YOU WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

EB: yeah guys we should listen! i would like to hear what happened to dave!

CG: THANK YOU, EGBERT.

CG: FOR ONCE IN YOUR PATHETIC LIFE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE BEING A VOICE OF REASON.

TG: where even is davey???

TG: if hes fine why isnt he txtin the group too?

TT: Roxy raises a compelling point. My suspicions have been aroused again.

CG: OH MY FUCKING GOD.

AG: Woooooooow, Karkat, did you actually do something to Dave? I didn’t know you had it in you to 8e so sin8ster.

CG: I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING TO HIM.

CG: YOU ARE ALL IMBECILES.

CG: HE’S SITTING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME

CG: AND HE’S BUSY TEXTING SOMEONE.

CG: I THINK ROSE? I DON’T REALLY FUCKING KNOW.

CG: BUT ONCE AGAIN I’LL REPEAT MYSELF AND MAKE IT EXCEEDINGLY CLEAR

CG: THAT HE’S COMPLETELY *FINE*!!!

GA: As One Of The Few People In This Group Chat Informed On This Matter

GA: I Can Confirm That Dave Is Perfectly Fine

GA: We Should Give Karkat The Floor

AG: Oh my god. Are you two in cahoooooooots????????

AG: How interesting.

GG: i think we can trust kanaya!

GG: shes dating rose, so i dont think she would help karkat cover up daves murder.

CG: AS TROUBLING IT IS THAT YOU ASSHOLES TRUST ME SO LITTLE AS TO THINK I’M CAPABLE OF OR WILLING TO COMMIT MURDER

CG: LISTEN TO KANAYA AND JADE.

CG: AND BY THAT I MEAN LISTEN TO *ME*.

CA: kar if you need a hit put out you knoww i'm your man

CA: i can take care of this inconvvenience for you

GA: Eridan I Advise You Not To Offer Your Services Here

CG: YEAH AND ALSO I’M NOT RECIPROCATING YOUR DESPERATE ATTEMPTS AT FLIRTING.

CG: FRANKLY IT PUTS ME OFF

CG: ESPECIALLY SINCE I ALREADY HAVE A *MAN*.

CG: WHICH IS THE FUCKING POINT I’M TRYING TO GET TO IF YOU SPONGEBRAINED IDIOTS WOULD GIVE ME THE CHANCE.

TT: You’re on thin fucking ice, Vantas.

CG: DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE SOMETHING COMPLETELY MORONIC TO SAY OR CAN I TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENED WITH ME AND DAVE?

CG: NO? YOU ASSHOLES FINALLY SHUT UP?

AT: uHHHH, aLL THIS LEAD UP,

AT: iS MAKING ME, uH,

AT: nERVOUS,

CG: THANK YOU *SO* MUCH FOR THE INPUT, TAVROS! EVERYONE GIVE HIM A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE!

CG: COME ON, WHERE’S ALL THE CLAPPING? THAT COMMENT DESERVED A STANDING *FUCKING* OVATION!

CG: OH WHOOPS. I MEAN SITTING OVATION.

CG: SORRY, TAVROS.

AT: iT’S, fINE,

Jesus. Karkat unsurprisingly dug himself into a fucking hole. It looks like it’s up to you to clean up this shitshow.

TG: me and karkat are dating

TT: What?

EB: whoa what?

GG: oh my gosh!!!

CA: wwhat the hell

TG: craxy if true

TG: *crazy

TG: *cROXY hell yeah

AT: wHOAAAA,

AG: Hahahahahahahaha! This is priceless. Surely this is a joke!

GC: Y34H 1’M W1TH YOU TH3R3 VR1SK4 TH1S 1S 4BSOLUT3LY H1L4R1OUS.

TG: nope

TG: total truth

CG: YEAH. SEE? DAVE ISN’T DEAD. AND HE’S DATING ME.

CG: THAT WAS THE THING I WAS TRYING TO GET TO BUT YOU DUMBASSES HAD TO INTERJECT EVERY OTHER LINE.

TA: ok kk there ii2 no po22iible way thii2 ii2 true.

TA: you wouldnt date that douchebag iif he wa2 the la2t guy on earth.

CG: SORRY, SOLLUX, BUT THAT’S WHERE YOU’RE WRONG.

TG: yeah hate to break it to you man but apparently karkat actually likes me

TG: so uh i guess hes into douchebags

TA: wow.

TA: on 2econd thought thii2 ii2 completely un2urprii2iing.

TA: carry on.

GA: I Assure You All That They Are Telling The Truth

EB: is this a prank?

CG: NO, EGBERT. NOT EVERYONE LIKES DOING SHITTY PRANKS.

TG: yep no jokey bullshit going on here john

TG: just dudes being super gay for each other

TG: and not realizing it until theyre both trapped in a room together with a shit ton of booze

TG: its like the real housewives in here once the alcohol gets taken out suddenly the shittalking is completely uninhibited

TG: accusations flying like wild and before you know it tabitha is trying to chop off samanthas hair

TG: actually i dunno ive never actually watched any of those stupid shows

TG: but yeah the shittalking me and kark got down to was more like talking shit out

TG: and realizing that we actually really like each other

TG: so long story short were dating now

TT: I was going to suggest that maybe Karkat was pretending to be Dave, but I don’t think he could pull off a patented Strider ramble like that.

TT: So I’m convinced this is Dave.

GG: Not to mention that Karkat wouldn’t have a motive to do that in the first place.

CG: THANK YOU, DETECTIVE CROCKER, FOR YOUR EXPERT SLEUTHING.

CG: AND BY EXPERT SLEUTHING I MEAN *COMMON SENSE*.

GG: That’s a mighty rude way to thank me, but you’re welcome.

TT: So, now that I know this isn’t a ruse, congratulations are in order.

TT: Good job, bro.

TT: I’m proud of the extremely gay man you have become.

TG: thanks bro it took a lot of hard work and struggle but i think i finally reached peak gayness

TG: and received the ultimate reward that is karkat vantas

TG: emphasis on the ass

GG: :O

EB: what the fuck.

TG: lmaoooo

CA: are you kiddin me wwith this bullshit

CG: DAVE WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT OBJECTIFYING MY REAR END?

TG: sorry babe

TT: Okay, now I’m wondering if this isn’t just an extremely elaborate ironic stunt you’re pulling.

TT: Either way, I’m still proud of you.

TG: why cant it be both

TT: Touche.

GG: wait i thought dave and karkat hated each other?

EB: yeah! this still sounds kinda fishy to me.

TG: yeah we did too

TG: but it turns out we were both pretending to hate each other because we thought the other hated us

TG: so basically were both huge stupid idiots stuck in our own little romcom

CG: YEAH WE REALLY HAD OUR HEADS SHOVED COMPLETELY UP OUR ASSES.

TT: *Raises eyebrow suggestively*.

TG: rose i swear to god

CG: FUCK OFF LALONDE YOU KNOW THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT.

TT: Alright, I’ll lay off on teasing you two for now.

TT: I just thought I should mention that I’ve known for a while that Dave had feelings for Karkat.

TT: So I can further corroborate that they are, in fact, dating now.

EB: wow.

EB: i never would have guessed.

EB: but this is awesome! my best bros in the world are not only getting along, but dating?

EB: that is so rad.

GG: yeah congrats guys!

TG: wow davey im so proud of u 4 finally getting a mans!!!

CA: i dunno howw to feel about all a this

CG: NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION ERIDAN.

CA: :(

GC: TH1S 1S TH3 MOST 1NT3R3ST1NG TH1NG TO H4PP3N 1N TH3 WHOL3 LOCKDOWN SO TH4NKS FOR TH4T.

GC: 4LSO CONGR4TS 1 GU3SS. 1 COULD SM3LL TH3 P1N1NG OFF YOU TWO FROM A M1L3 4W4Y SO 1’M GL4D TH4T’S OV3R.

AG: This is just soooooooo precious. Karkat and D8ve. D8ing. How a8solutely adora8le.

AT: yEAAAAH, vRISKA’S RIGHT,

AT: yOU GUYS ARE, pROBABALY PRETTY ADORABLE,

GA: I Agree With The Sentiment

TG: thanks yall

CG: YES THANK YOU

CG: FOR FINALLY BEING FUCKING NORMAL AND NOT QUESTIONING EVERY OTHER WORD OUT OF MY MOUTH!

TG: calm down kark you gotta admit their confusion is warranted

TG: i mean we were both pretty confused too

CG: WHATEVER.

CG: WE’RE DATING NOW SUCKERS.

CG: SO SUCK IT.

CG: THAT’S THE END OF MY FUCKING ANNOUNCEMENT

CG: WHICH WOULD’VE BEEN DONE A LONG ASS TIME AGO IF YOU ASSHOLES HAD JUST LET ME SPEAK.

CG: BUT ANYWAY

CG: IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO FUCKING SAY

CG: OR IF YOU’RE LATE TO THE IMBECILE PARTY AND ARE READING THIS BULLSHIT LATER

CG: E.G. IF YOU’RE GT, AA, AC, CT, TC, OR CC

CG: (JESUS FUCK WE HAVE TOO MANY FRIENDS WHAT THE HELL.)

CG: JUST TEXT US IN PRIVATE.

CG: KARKAT OUT.

TG: yeah well iron out all the deets later but thats pretty much all we had to say

TG: so

TG: peace dawgs

You look up at Karkat, who practically slams his phone down, his face red. "I cannot fucking believe the _nerve_ of some of those people! To fucking _question_ me like that? What gave them the _audacity_ to do that?"

One more second of looking at his enraged face and you crack up, laughing harder than you have in a long time, hard enough that your sides start to ache.

"What?" Karkat asks, practically yelling.

"It's just- haha- so fucking ridiculous that it- pfft- went down like that. I can't- ahahahaha." You break down in laughter.

He tries to look angry, but he snickers a little. "It really was fucking ridiculous, huh?" He giggles a little more, putting his face in his hands. "Jesus, our friends are fucking insane."

"Most of the insane ones are _your_ friends, dumbass."

"Okay, and what about your brother?"

"Alright, I'll admit, Dirk's pretty fucking wild. But at least he's chill."

"I think he threatened to kill me."

"He wouldn't _actually_ kill you."

"It sure didn't sound that way."

You spend the rest of the day fielding questions and congratulations from your friends, though for the most part you ignore them in favor of cuddling- and a bit of making out- with Karkat. You don't remember feeling this happy in a long time.

"Hey, Karkat?" you whisper, as you're laying in bed with him later that night, his back tucked into your chest.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For dating me. You, um, make me really happy."

He turns around to press a kiss to your forehead, smiling sleepily. "You make me happy too, idiot."

"Good."

"Go to sleep, weirdo."

"Okay, asshole. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

DAY FOURTEEN

"-the lockdown has been lifted. While we still advise that you stay indoors as much as possible and practice social distancing, non-essential businesses will now be opening for limited hours and-"

You and Karkat stare at the news anchor on the television, your cereal suddenly left forgotten on the coffee table.

"So... it's over?" Karkat asks, rubbing the back of his head.

"It looks like it. Thank God, I was getting antsy being cooped up in here all day. No offense to you, of course, a man just needs his sunshine."

"Dave, you never fucking go outside, don't act like you ever get 'sunshine'.""

You put up your hands, smirking. "Okay, okay, maybe not, but I do miss seeing people. I've been crazy without my bro John here to chill out with."

"Oh..." Karkat toys with his spoon, swirling the milk around in his bowl. "Then is John coming back?"

"I don't see why not. It is _his_ apartment too, and I'm sure Jane and Rox have been driving him up the wall." You watch him curiously as his frown deepens. "I guess that means you can go back... home. Shit."

"Shit is right." He's practically pouting now, which you would find adorable if you weren't getting mildly upset about this whole development. "As much as this whole quarantine thing sucks ass, I was kinda enjoying being alone with you."

"Yeah, me too, man." You sigh, turning down the volume on the T.V. "I mean, we can still see each other. You live like twenty minutes away, and it's not like the quarantine is still in place."

"I guess so, but still. We _just_ started dating, before we even really got to spend time together."

"Just because we weren't dating doesn't make those first ten days or so suddenly not count."

"You know what I mean, Dave. I barely got to spend time with you as my boyfriend." He leans back on the couch, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Okay, listen, dude." You turn to face him, taking one of his hands. "Sure, maybe we won't see each other every day, twenty-four-seven or whatever, but maybe that's a good thing. Maybe we would've gotten sick of each other. At least now we can date like normal people."

He grumbles, his grip on your hand loose. "I guess."

"Plus, this means you can take me out on an actual date. I _know_ you're already planning on some romantic candlelit dinner at an Olive Garden or something."

Karkat snorts, rolling his eyes. "Dave, please. _Olive Garden_ _?_ What do you take me for, a fucking unprofessional?"

"Come on, man, Olive Garden was my shit growing up. They had me at never-ending breadsticks."

"If we're going on a date I'm taking you somewhere better than Olive fucking Garden. Jesus Christ."

You smile, before giving him a kiss. "See, babe? We're gonna be fine. We don't need a dumb quarantine to keep us together."

"Okay, fine, you're right. I _guess_ it's okay that the lockdown's ending." He's grinning now, too.

"That's the spirit, dork."

The world is kinda falling apart, the virus situation is scary as fuck, and the future seems more uncertain than ever. But you can be certain of one thing- for the time being, you have Karkat Vantas to count on.

And that's enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's it! it was nice to write something shorter than usual. i thought it'd only be fitting to end this fic on 4/13 lmao.  
> anyway thanks for reading!!!

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!! stay safe and healthy everyone!


End file.
